英译汉 passage1
Along a rugged, wide North Sea beach here on a recent day, children formed teams of eight to 10,taking their places beside mounds of sand carefully cordoned by tape. They had one hour for their sand castle competition. Some built fishlike structures, complete with scales. Others spent their time on elaborate ditch and dike labyrinths. Each castle was adorned on top with a white flag.
近日，北海沿岸崎岖而宽广的海滩上，孩子们八人一组，十人一队，在用隔离带精心围起来的沙堆旁各就各位。他们要在一个小时内完成堆沙堡的比赛。有些人打造鱼形的主体建筑，再配上鳞片。其余的人修建复杂的沟渠和迷宫式的堤坝。每个沙堡的顶部都插有一面白旗。
1.“taking their places/ beside mounds of sand /carefully cordoned by tape.”这句话划分一下知道了大概意思是这些小朋友各就各位在自己的沙堆旁边，这些沙堆被隔离带精心的围着。
mound of [something]一堆某物
A. noun警戒线
to throw a cordon around [something]在某物周围设置警戒线
B. transitive verb
cordon off
[cordon off something], [cordon something off]封锁
4. ditch
A. noun沟
B. transitive verb
①(get rid of)抛弃 ‹partner, friend›; 丢弃 ‹car, machinery›
to ditch one's boyfriend甩掉男友
②Aviation(crash-land)«pilot, crew» 使…在海上迫降 ‹plane›
Then they watched the a invade and devour their work, eing who castle could with stand the tide longest. The last standing flag won.
然后，孩子们等待着大海涨潮，吞没沙堡，看谁的沙堡在潮水中持续的时间最久。白旗最后倒下的沙堡获胜。
It was no ordinary day at the beach, but a newly minted, state-sanctioned competition /for school children to rai awareness /of the dangers of rising a levels /in a country of precarious geography /that has provided lessons for the world about water management, but that fears that its next generation will grow complacent.
孩子们在海滩上度过的这一天意义非凡。荷兰地理环境不稳定，海平面不断上升，因此，当地政府决定，为小学生们举办一次别开生面的比赛，以此来提高孩子们的危险意识。尽管荷兰一直是世界各国仿效的水利大国，仍然担心下一代会因此变得骄傲自大。
1. Newly minted：惯用搭配，崭新的，新制作的，刚完成的
1.一整段是一句话，所以划分句子很重要。译文将“of the dangers of rising a levels /in a
country of precarious geography”提前翻译出来“荷兰地理环境不稳定，海平面不断上升，”是非常聪明的做法。但由于时间紧张，打乱语句顺序不是首选做法，我们可以试着顺着原文顺序翻译：
孩子们在海滩上度过了意义非凡的一天，而且此次国家新批准设立该比赛项目也让孩子们意识到，祖国地理环境不稳定，海平面不断上升的危险。尽管荷兰一直是世界各国仿效的水利大国，仍然担心下一代会因此变得骄傲自大。
还要说明的是“in a country of precarious geography /that has provided…”这里很容易就近将that后面的句子看作是修饰geography，其实of precarious geography是形容词修饰主语country的作用，a country of precarious geography是一个整体，表示地理环境脆弱的国家。
Fifty-five percent of the Netherlands is either below a level or heavily flood-prone. Yet thanks to its renowned experti and large water management budget percent of gross domestic product), the Netherlands has averted catastrophe since a flooding disaster in 1953.
荷兰境内55%的土地，要么低于海平面，要么存在严重的水患。然而，由于水利专业技术久负盛名，水利专项拨款又十分庞大（约占国内生产总值的%），所以1953年洪灾过后，荷兰再也没有遭受过严重的水灾。
Experts here say that they now worry that the famed Dutch water management system actually works too well and that citizens will begin to take for granted the nation’s success in staying dry. As global climate change threatens to rai a levels by as much as four feet by the end of the century, the authorities here are working to make real to children the forecasts that may em far-off, but that will shape their lives in adulthood and old age.
专家称，他们担心，由于荷兰现有的水利系统太完善了，国民开始想当然地以为，荷兰在水利方面已经取得了成功。全球气候变暖，预示着到本世纪末，荷兰的海平面会上升四英尺。当地政府试图通过本次比赛，让孩子们明白，这些看似遥不可及的预示，将会决定孩子们的中老年生活。
(坏事) 可能发生
It’s threatening to rain.天可能要下雨。
The fighting is threatening to turn into full-scale war.
这次冲突可能要演变成全面战争。
“Everything works so smoothly that people don’t realize anymore that they are taking a risk in developing urban areas in low-lying areas,” said Raimond Hafkenscheid, the lead organizer of the competition and a water expert with the Foreign Ministry.
